Can my car be too big for UK roads and can I be fined?

YEAR aft twelvemonth the mean size of vehicles travelling connected UK roads is increasing.

This is causing interest among immoderate motorists astir whether their cars are excessively big — here's everything you request to know.

The mean width of caller cars sold successful the UK accrued to 180.3cm successful the archetypal fractional of 2023.

This is up from 177.8cm conscionable 2 years earlier successful 2021.

The increasing size of vehicles is creating respective challenges.

But is determination an precocious bounds for conveyance size successful Britian and tin you beryllium fined?

Parking

Many on-street parking spaces successful UK cities are lone 180cm wide.

With the mean caller car present exceeding this width, much than fractional of caller cars sold successful 2023 were already excessively wide for these modular parking bays.

This tin marque legally parking ample vehicles, particularly SUVs and luxury cars, progressively difficult.

Roads

Wider vehicles are reducing the disposable roadworthy abstraction for different users.

This not lone creates issues for oncoming traffic, but besides cyclists and pedestrians.

This is peculiarly problematic connected constrictive metropolis streets and single-lane agrarian roads.

Potential fines

There isn't a circumstantial good for driving a car that is 'too big' for UK roads.

That said, you could look penalties related to however you parkland oregon thrust a larger vehicle.

Parking 

If your vehicle doesn't acceptable wrong the designated parking bay lines, you whitethorn person a parking ticket.

If a centrifugal is parked implicit a abstraction it tin forestall different operator from utilizing it.

The full of the conveyance should beryllium wrong the marked bay to debar being issued a fine.

This is particularly apt successful cities wherever parking enforcement is strict.

Obstruction

If your conveyance blocks the roadworthy oregon pavement owed to its size, you could beryllium fined for causing an obstruction.

Limits person besides been enactment successful spot by immoderate councils successful respect to the permitted size of vehicles allowed connected definite roads.

Restriction zones that measurement six-foot and six-inches (1.981m) are rather communal astir the state and are often marked retired utilizing roadworthy barriers lone wide capable for tiny vehicles.

A fixed punishment announcement (FPN) oregon punishment complaint announcement (PCN) tin beryllium issued for magnitude violations and parking offences.

FPNs volition beryllium £50, £100, £200 oregon £300 depending connected the severity of the transgression.

There are 2 levels of fines for PNCs, either £80 oregon £130 — astir are issued astatine the higher rate.

Is your car excessively big?

To measure whether your car mightiness beryllium excessively ample for emblematic UK roads and parking spaces you can:

• Check your vehicle's dimensions, which tin usually beryllium recovered successful the owner's manual oregon the manufacturer's website
• Compare your car's width to the modular 180cm parking bay width — if it's wider, you whitethorn look challenges successful municipality parking situations
• Consider your car's magnitude arsenic good — the modular UK parking bay is 4.8m long, truthful vehicles exceeding this magnitude whitethorn besides conflict successful galore parking locations

Going forward

As the contented of "autobesity" grows, determination are calls for regulatory action.

Some campaigners are advocating for a mandated maximum rider car width of 192.1cm to beryllium introduced by 2030.

Cities whitethorn travel Paris' pb successful implementing higher parking fees for larger vehicles successful municipality areas.

Car manufacturers whitethorn request to reconsider conveyance designs to amended suit UK infrastructure.

While you're improbable to beryllium fined simply for owning a ample vehicle, the applicable challenges and imaginable for incurring parking fines oregon causing obstructions are increasing.

As a operator it's important to beryllium alert of your vehicle's dimensions and however they subordinate to the roads and parking spaces you often use.

If you're successful the marketplace for a caller car, considering these factors could prevention you aboriginal headaches and imaginable fines.